Swiss Senate postpones decision on EU treaty package vote

Following disagreement on how to vote on the EU package, the Swiss Senate decided to postpone the vote. Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Senate has not yet decided whether the EU treaty package requires a majority of the cantons as well as a majority of the people.

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On Thursday, the Senate initially only concluded the discussion on the question of which parliamentary committees should be in charge of this issue. There was no substantive discussion on the double majority in favour of the EU treaties.

After an hour and a half of sometimes emotional debate, the Senate decided by 24 votes to 20 that the substantive discussion on the single or double majority for the Bilaterals III (Switzerland-EU package) should first be continued in the Senate’s Political Institutions Committee (SPK-S).

The SPK-S is expected to deal with the referendum issue in depth at the end of June.

Three proposals are on the table: The government is in favour of an optional referendum, which would not require a majority of the cantons. The second option is a mandatory state treaty referendum “sui generis”.

As a third option, the two parliamentary committees for state policy want to examine a proposal by lawyer Stefan Schmid. He had argued that there was a contradiction between the Federal Constitution and the EU treaty package, particularly with regard to the free movement of persons. As a way out, he proposed a transitional article for the constitution.

Following the preliminary examination by the SPK-S, the Senate is expected to begin its deliberations on the entire EU dossier – including the referendum issue – in the autumn session. The final decision in parliament will be made next year at the earliest, once the House of Representatives has also dealt with the matter. The outcome is open.

Translated from German by AI/jdp

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